07 Dec Master the Work-Life Balance and Reduce Chances of Burnout
In the modern workplace, our priorities have shifted. More than ever, we fluctuate between in-office work, work-from-home lifestyles, and a hybrid mix of the two. Because of this, it’s become crazily important to maintain a work-life balance that doesn’t leave us overrun with exhaustion or too distracted throughout our days.
If you haven’t mastered the perfect work-life balance for yourself, don’t worry. These things aren’t one size fits all. Unfortunately, that also means there isn’t one single formula that you can apply to your own experiences. Check out these tricks to help you control and maintain a steady work-life balance and lower your chances of burnout.
What is Work-Life Balance?
Everyone talks about the work-life balance… but what is it really?
Simply, the work-life balance is when you have dedicated time for work and dedicated time for life. Ideally, these moments should not overlap. This means that you are not still answering phone calls regarding work while you are off the clock, cooking dinner, relaxing with friends and family, etc. Further, it also means that you are not spending your time at work pouring over things that have no business being there—like where you should meet your friends for dinner over the weekend, what’s the best possible time to leave for your family’s house later, or scrolling through pictures of your children (or pets).
Of course, there are always exceptions and unavoidable emergencies that may crop up from time to time. But that doesn’t mean you have to allow the work-life balance to become a gray area. In fact, it’s better that you create a strict and bold line between your work and life from the get-go.
Why is Work-Life Balance Important?
Having a healthy work-life balance can not only improve mental/physical health, but it can help you maintain your motivation and productivity. As the name suggests, it’s a balance. If you maintain stability between work and life, it’s less likely for you to face burnout.
On the flip side, it’s easy to get sucked into your work if things are going wrong or if you have a lot of passion for what you’re doing. No matter the reason you keep working overtime, it could eventually lead you to burnout. As the saying goes, too much of anything—even a good thing—can eventually become overwhelming or harmful.
If the scale is tipped too far into work mode, you might find yourself missing out on important events with friends/family, losing interest in your hobbies, or even becoming too isolated from those around you.
Work-life balance is important because:
It helps improve productivity—
By maintaining a well-balanced line between work and life, it can help create a healthier mindset while you’re at work. In 2019, the American Psychological Association did a breakdown on the effects of a break on our energy during work. You can read the article about it here.
The article concluded that a break—even a small, five-minute one—can help us remain focused on our tasks and high in energy. It’s all too easy to keep chipping away at your set task while you’re working. However, consistently working for hours on end will only leave you exhausted and mentally drained by the end of it. Taking a small break every hour or two will give your mind a moment of reprieve and allow you to replenish your energy to continue.
In the long run, maintaining a work-life balance will increase your motivation and productivity by giving your mind a rest from all of that work.
Reduces stress and chances of burnout—
As mentioned above, having an imbalance between work and life on a day-to-day scale can lead to eventual burnout.
Work can be exhausting, even work that you love. Constantly using your brain to power ideas, complete projects, and expand your skills is exhausting. It puts a strain on your mental well-being over time. Imagine it this way:
Have you ever tapped your knuckles against a desk? Unless you’re hitting the desk fairly hard, it doesn’t hurt to do. But take it further. What if you tapped your knuckles on the desk—or any hard surface—24/7? Even if you don’t increase the speed with which you’re tapping your knuckles or the strength you’re hitting the desk with, your knuckles are going to start to hurt—possibly even bruise with the continuous tapping.
Work is like that for your brain. A constant strain—or tapping—and your mind will become bruised. You’ll burn out. If you make the effort to solidify your work-life balance, you’re less likely to reach this point of mental exhaustion.
And gives you more freedom—physically and mentally!
One of the greatest things about a healthy work-life balance is the freedom it allows. When your life is properly balanced, you will find that you end up doing more things and feeling lighter.
Creating that clear line between life and work will give you more time to focus on each of those situations respectively. For instance, you can truly enjoy your time outside of work if you previously decided to not check anything work-related after you’ve clocked out.
How to Find the Work-Life Balance that Works Best for You
Though it might seem like the work-life balance is one size fits all… it’s not. In fact, a work-life balance can vary immensely from person to person and from industry to industry.
For some, it might be enough to simply not check emails after you’re done for the day. For others, it might take more effort than that.
With the increase of work-from-home jobs, the work-life balance has been faltering. Now people have almost willingly brought their work into their daily lives. It’s harder for them to separate the two, and they end up facing a burnout.
To combat something like this, the line between work and life needs to be more clearly defined. Instead of simply closing down work programs, you might need to go the length of having a separate work computer that you can turn off at the end of the day. Further, it might be more beneficial to have a separate space dedicated to working. Having a specific space like this can help create a mental balance between when you’re working and when you’re not.
If you work in an office, you may need to find the balance in other ways. For instance, you might need to keep your phone hidden away in your desk drawer or limit your use of it once it starts becoming a distraction. You should also consider what a healthy balance is for your overtime schedule. Working overtime consistently might offer a nicer paycheck, but it will put a strain on your work-life balance.
Above all, the work-life balance needs to fit you and your schedule in order to work. So, try a few different things until you find something that works.
How to Maintain Work-Life Balance
Maintaining a work-life balance takes a lot of discipline. If you’re used to checking your work email every hour, responding to coworkers or clients as the messages/calls come in, or being available at all times for the miscellaneous tasks your boss assigns, then you might need to work a bit more to maintain your line between work and life.
On the flip side, if you have things happening at home or with your friends/family, you might be more inclined to check your phone at work out of worry. While it’s good to be ready for anything, you need to make sure it won’t interfere with your work.
Luckily, most devices—computers and mobile phones—have upgraded their focus assistants. These programs/apps are customizable so you can mute the correct programs and notifications at the right time. For instance, iPhones have a special focus assistance that allows you to customize four different focus times—Do Not Disturb, Personal, Work, and Sleep—or create your own. In each of these, you can manually choose the apps you want to mute notifications for and the times at which you want to mute them. Many computers allow you to customize your notifications to do a similar thing.
By organizing your notifications, you can create a better work-life balance without the stress of ignoring notifications as they come. You won’t even see the notifications to begin with.
Perhaps a New Job is What You Need to Reach the Perfect Work-Life Balance
Unfortunately, the work-life balance isn’t always in our control. With demanding deadlines, bosses with high expectations, and a fast-paced environment, you might not be able to create much of a balance at all between work and life. While this works for some, it might not work for you. If your work results are lowering and your life outside of work is straining, you might want to consider changing jobs.
Now, this isn’t an easy thing to decide. You should think about the reasons you might want to switch jobs and think of the reason you took this job to begin with. If you first applied for this job because it was something you’re passionate about, decide if you still have that same passion and if it can be applied somewhere else.
If you’re ready for a change in careers or are looking to update your resume before you start searching for a new job, check out the Career Coaching Services we offer at The Jonus Group.
From resume rewrites, social media optimizations, and mock interviews to career coaching packages and career conversations, we can help you get on the right path.